Poker Variants

Poker is one of the oldest and most historic table games in the history of casino gaming. Born out of US popular culture, poker was played on riverboats along the Mississippi River and New Orleans in the early 19th century. Poker variants like Seven-Card Stud and Texas Hold’em began to appear, taking the game to new heights from a commercial and entertainment perspective.

Fast forward to the present day and poker remains one of the most adrenaline-fuelled card games of the 21st century. Below, we’ll explore the game of poker and the different types of poker games you can enjoy at The Clubhouse Casino.

How to Play Poker

Of all the major poker variants, Texas Hold’em is comfortably the most popular poker game online. It also forms the basis for other variants like the video poker games we offer at The Clubhouse Casino. That’s because video poker is based on the same hand rankings as Texas Hold’em poker.

Texas Hold’em must be played with a minimum of two players. It cannot be played alone against a dealer. The aim of Texas Hold’em poker is to use your two hole cards – the two cards dealt to you by the dealer – and any of the community cards on the flop, turn or river, to create the highest-ranking five-card poker hand possible.

There are multiple rounds of betting in a game of Texas Hold’em poker. Players can bet on their two hole cards before the first three cards (flop) have even been dealt. There are further rounds of betting before the fourth card (turn) and the fifth and final community card (river).

To make a winning five-card hand in Texas Hold’em, you don’t have to use both of your hole cards. In fact, you don’t have to use them at all, although it does help if you can.

It’s a good idea to master the hand rankings of Texas Hold’em poker. This will help you decide in future games whether your hands are strong or weak.

In turn, this can help you with your betting decisions, including whether to fold your hand and remove yourself from that round or continue betting with a strong hand.

• Royal Flush
  
  Five cards in numerical order and in the same suit – from 10 through to Ace.
   
• Straight Flush
  
  Five cards in numerical order and in the same suit.
   
• Four-of-a-kind
  
  Four cards of the same value but different suits.
   
• Full House
  
  A hand comprising a three-of-a-kind and a pair.
   
• Flush
  
  Five cards of the same suit.
   
• Straight
  
  Five cards in a numerical sequence e.g. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
   
• Three-of-a-kind
  
  Three cards of the same value but different suits.
   
• Two Pair
  
  Two pairs of cards with the same values but different suits.
   
• Pair
  
  A pair of cards with the same value but different suits.
   
• High Card
  
  A high card hand is essentially your best value hand that’s not paired or in a suited or numbered combination.

The Best Poker Variants at The Clubhouse Casino

Looking for the best video poker game to play at The Clubhouse Casino? We’ve got you covered. Below, you’ll find an overview of four types of poker games that are most popular among our members.

• Caribbean Stud Poker
  
  Unlike some poker variants, such as Texas Hold’em, Caribbean Stud allows you to play against the dealer rather than other opponents. Played using a 52-card deck, Caribbean Stud is played without the Jokers. Players are dealt five cards face down. The dealer is also dealt five cards, with their first top card shown upwards.
  
  
  
  You can then view your five cards and decide whether you have a strong hand to play with and beat the dealer. If you don’t feel you have a strong hand, you can relinquish your hand and your ante bet. The dealer’s hand must be a high card Ace or better to qualify. Winning hands are paid out at odds of 1:1 to the player.
   
• Three Card Poker
  
  Three Card Poker – also known as Three Card Brag – is another game played between players and a dealer. The game begins with players entering an ante wager. Three cards are dealt face down to the player(s) and the dealer.
  
  
  
  Players can then look at their cards and decide if their hand is likely to be strong against the dealer’s three-card hand. If you are confident, you then place another ‘play’ wager. If the hand does beat the dealer’s hand, you’ll win on the ante and play wagers. If it loses, you’ll lose both wagers. If the dealer’s hand is no better than a high card Jack, your play wager will be refunded to you even if your hand is worse.
   
• Joker Poker
  
  Joker Poker – also known as Joker Wild – is a variant of video poker. It is similar to other conventional video poker games, apart from the fact that it includes one additional card on top of the conventional 52-card deck.
  
  
  
  Joker Poker includes a ‘Wild Joker’ card. If you get this hand, it can be used to act as any other card value to enhance your hand. In Joker Poker, a pair of Kings is the lowest-value card you can win with.
   
• Deuces Wild Video Poker
  
  Deuces Wild is another of the video poker games best odds options, as the game carries a very low house edge. In this version, cards worth 2 are considered ‘wild’ which means they can substitute any other card on the screen to form a winning hand.
  
  
  
  Three-of-a-kind is the lowest-value hand you can win with, with pairs and two pairs not successful in Deuces Wild.

Different Poker Variants for Beginners

If you’re new to poker and you want the easiest types of poker games to get started with, here is a winning trio of poker variants that you can get to grips with fast.

• Jacks or Better Video Poker
  
  Think of Jacks or Better like a classic five-card draw version of poker. The machine will randomly allocate you a five-card hand and you’ll get one chance to make any alterations to your hand.
  
  
  
  This means you can choose to keep some of or all your original cards and get new ones dealt to you by the dealer to try and improve your hand. Unsurprisingly, a pair of Jacks is the lowest-value hand you can win with in Jacks or Better.
   
• All Aces Video Poker
  
  The All Aces video poker game is slightly different from Jacks or Better. That’s because it makes the payouts for high-ranking hands like four-of-a-kind much bigger, at the expense of two pair and other low-ranking hands.
  
  
  
  In fact, four-of-a-kind Aces will pay out approximately half of the payout available for the top-ranking Royal Flush.
   
• 6+ Hold’em Poker
  
  This format of Hold’em poker is known as a ‘short deck’ variant. Before the game begins, all cards worth less than six are removed from the dealer’s deck. Each player must submit an ante bet before being dealt a hand. The dealer button also posts a ‘button blind’.
  
  
  
  Ace is low or high here, with flushes also more valuable than a full house. It’s one of the most fast-paced poker variants enjoyed by low and high-stakes players worldwide.

Reasons to Play at The Clubhouse Casino

One of the best reasons to enjoy the latest poker variants at The Clubhouse Casino is our partnerships with the iGaming industry’s leading software providers. We have different types of poker games from around a dozen iGaming software studios, each bringing its own flavour to the online poker and video poker scene.

As a holder of a Curacao eGaming License, you can be sure of the legitimacy and transparency of our games and services. We segregate all our customers’ funds from our operating funds, so your bankroll is always safe.

The Clubhouse Casino is also fully responsive on all the leading mobile web browsers, allowing you to enjoy the latest video and live poker variants on smartphone and tablet devices too.

FAQs

What are the most popular poker variants?

Aside from Texas Hold’em, there are several types of online poker games that players enjoy. These include Seven-Card Stud, Five-Card Draw, Caribbean Stud, Three-Card Poker and Video Poker.

How do you win at poker?

In some poker variants to win, you must build the highest-value hand against your fellow players. In other poker variants, you simply need a hand with a higher ranking than the dealer’s hand.